eMusic changes pricing structure to nab major label tracks

eMusic has "sold out" to offer more fresh major label content in exchange for …

In an effort to attract a larger user base, digital music retailer eMusic has added music from three of the four largest music labels. However, the change comes with a move to a new tiered pricing plan and the elimination of its song "credits."

eMusic boasted a catalog of over 10 million tracks, but focused largely on indie music. While the company added back-catalog songs from some major labels last year, new members searching for the latest major label content were frustrated by the holes in the catalog. "Those days are over," eMusic CEO Adam Klein told Associated Press. "There will still be some blanks but it'll be a small percentage."

The new content will include newer songs from Sony and Warner, as well as tracks more than a year old from Universal. EMI is so far the lone holdout among the four largest major labels.

However, the expanded catalog comes with a price. Subscribers will no longer be given song credits, which could be used at any time for any song, and which worked out to be about 50¢ each. Instead, most indie tracks will sell for a flat 49¢, while major label content will be priced at 69¢, 79¢, or as high as 89¢ for the newest hits.

Most frustrating to longtime users, however, is the fact that credits not used for purchases do not roll over to the next month. Subscribers will either have to spend their credits on songs or essentially throw the money away if nothing of interest is available.

The company noted that prices are still 20 to 50 percent lower than tracks available from market leader iTunes. Apple finally relented to industry demands to offer tiered pricing in order to eliminate DRM early last year, and it now sells tracks at 69¢, 99¢, and $1.29 for chart-toppers. That also prompted tiered pricing to spread to nearly every major digital music retailer.